Meet New York State Senator Lea Webb

On January 4, 2023, I will be sworn in as your representative for the New York State Senate’s 52nd District. I am honored to be part of this historic incoming Democratic class of senators made up entirely of women for the first time in the 245-year history of the New York Senate. It is a privilege to serve in the upper house of the New York State Legislature under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, as well as work with Governor Kathy Hochul, who both have the distinction of being the first women to fill their respective posts. I am excited to get to work for you and your family to fight for our communities.

We had an extra-long campaign season because of the redistricting process, which meant that I had more time to get to know the people and places of Tompkins County, from the rolling hills of Groton to the shores of Cayuga Lake. I met farmers in Enfield, walked along the Rail Trail in Dryden, and soaked up the joy on the playground at the Southside Community Center in the City of Ithaca. I appreciated hearing from so many of you about what matters to you as we knocked on doors and gathered around your kitchen tables. I will take your messages with me to Albany as I begin my first session as your senator.

I am a lifelong resident of the Southern Tier and a proud first-generation graduate of SUNY Broome and Binghamton University. Before my election to the NY Senate, I served for two terms on Binghamton City Council. Since terming out on the City Council, I have been working at Binghamton University coordinating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion education and programs for faculty, staff, and students.

I am especially proud to represent a district with some of the greatest higher institutions of higher education in the state of New York, including SUNY-Broome, Tompkins Cortland Community College, SUNY-Cortland, Ithaca College, Binghamton University, and Cornell University. I am committed to fight for increased funding to our community colleges and our SUNY system, which function as economic engines and bridges into the workforce for so many of our neighbors.

As a proud union member and the daughter of two union members, I know that workers are the backbone of our economy and essential to our recovery from the pandemic. The past few years have been particularly difficult for women, who often serve as caretakers for our children and elders, and who have been pushed out of the workforce in historic numbers. It is critical that we ensure every New Yorker is paid a fair wage and has access to affordable healthcare, homecare, and childcare, so that we can provide folks with a path back to the workforce and rebuild our economy.

When the 2023 legislative session begins on January 4, one of my first priorities will be to pass the 2023-2024 State Budget. I will work to ensure that we have equitable funding for our region. After more than two years of the pandemic our communities are hurting.

It is critical that the state budget lifts folks out of poverty, strengthens families, and addresses the needs of underserved communities who have so often been denied a seat at the table. We must center the needs of working families by increasing funding to our childcare sector, raising the wages of home health workers, and supporting our community colleges and universities. I will also fight to protect our natural resources and ensure a just and equitable transition to a green economy.

I am thrilled to get to work for the 52nd Senate District after a long campaign to victory. Wishing you all a peaceful New Year. I look forward to seeing you around the district in 2023.

Senator-elect Lea Webb served on the Binghamton City Council before being elected to represent the 52nd district of the NY State Senate, which includes Cortland County, Tompkins County, and part of Broome County.